The Molecular Engineering track is designed to take advantage of the great activity at UT Southwestern in gene therapy, diagnostics and genomics engineering. It is also designed to exploit educational opportunities for our students, spanning many clinical and basic science departments. Only doctoral students are currently admitted. A student wishing to pursue this track must have approval from the faculty of Biomedical Engineering and the faculty of the Division of Cell and Molecular Biology.

A curriculum has been designed to enhance the teaching and training of biomedical engineering students with backgrounds in electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering. Students will be given courses and lab rotations in robotics, imaging and biomaterials in their first graduate year to prepare them for molecular engineering training. They will take the core curriculum of the Division of Cell and Molecular Biology in their third and fourth semesters. This provides an excellent instruction in the theory and methods of molecular biology. Students will rotate during the third semester through selected labs in genetics and development, genomics, immunology, cell biology and neuroscience. By then, doctoral students will have chosen the laboratory and mentor for their doctoral research. On average, five years will be required to complete the doctoral program.

The comprehensive core curriculum of the Division of Cell and Molecular Biology is the basis for instruction for the molecular bioengineering doctoral students. Elements of this curriculum have been taken and passed by several biomedical engineering doctoral students, suggesting that it is appropriate for the intended grounding in the theory and techniques of molecular biology.

The dissolution of the boundaries between the classical disciplines of the biological sciences prompted the faculty of the Division of Cell and Molecular Biology to develop a flexible and modern core curriculum that can offer the broad education now necessary as a foundation for mores specialized studies in any aspect of biomedical research. The core course presents first-year students with an integrated view of contemporary biology that begins at the level of individual molecules and progresses through an analysis of the complex structures and functions of differentiated cells.

Four "threads" of study run throughout the course: genes, proteins, membranes, and cells/organelles. In addition, several important physiological "systems" have been chosen for in-depth discussions. These include the liver (to present the integration and regulation of several important metabolic pathways), the kidney (cell polarity, membrane transport, water balance), the heart (muscle contraction, neuronal and humoral regulation), and immune system (antigen/antibody interactions, antigen presentation, T-and B-cell differentiation, receptor gene rearrangements), the visual system (signal transduction, cellular organization, sensory neurobiology), and oncogenesis (cell cycle, differentiation, growth control, mutagenesis). Analysis of these systems is used to illustrate how the knowledge and concepts developed during study of the basic threads can be integrated and interrelated. The course places a major emphasis on developing the student's ability to understand and evaluate scientific papers and seminars. Didactic teaching is augmented by frequent discussion sessions, demonstrations, and student presentation. Significant time is spent analyzing the design, execution, and interpretation of experiments. Course credit is 7.5 semester hours for each of two semesters.